Everything Burns
by scenechick404
Summary: Alex has been a kid on the street since she was fifteen (going on sixteen), since her mom had thrown her out of the house. Now at eighteen, and a high school dropout, Sideswipe thinks he can help her get back on her feet...Not to mention he unintentionally became her guardian. How will that work out? (No slash, just friendship.) Inspired by Ben Moody's "Everything Burns".
1. Here's To Never Growing Up

**A/N: Hey there! So, I was real hesitant about uploading this because I'm always afraid I'm gonna bite off more than I can chew. But then I just said what the hell and decided to put it up. And much like my other stories, the song that inspires the chapter will be right under who the chapter is pretty much circling around, not to mention the chapter title. **

**Hopefully I can update both this and the other story I'm currently working on during the summer around Summer School. **

**So yeah, this would be my first Transformers story, so you'll have to be patient with me. I'm new and everything. -insert shy wave here-**

**Anyways, I won't keep you any longer, and let you guys read.**

**See ya at the bottom!**

* * *

_Alex  
_**Here's to Never Growing Up - Avril Lavigne**

Alex was like any other fifteen going on sixteen year old kid.

Curious, rebellious, and a little low self-esteem thrown in, though that was due to the bullying.

See, when she was nine; her sister had made a friend who took pride in making sure every day of Alex's life was a living hell. The girl's name was Darian and she was only three years older than the girl.

The bullying varied from hiting her head to being forced barefoot onto hot concrete and picking the dog droppings in the backyard.

The only thing that kept the older girl safe was the fact that their parents were currently dating. That was, until Alex opened her mouth and spilled everything.

Alex's mom surely wasn't okay with it, and neither was Darian's dad.

Why the teenager was dwelling on these sorts of thoughts during Health class, she'll never know. Maybe it was the fact that they're topic of this week was bullying.

Or maybe it was the fact that everyone kept bringing up a point where they were "Bullied."

They wouldn't know actual bullying if it hit them in the face.

The point of Alex's internal ramblings though, was that due to Darian, she's had a low self-image and esteem since then. She started to actually believe that she was ugly, and would actually get nowhere in life.

Though she had a 3.20 GPA and filled out quite nicely into a D sized bra. She had a size nine in jeans, and that was because of her hips.

But that wasn't the point.

She had a small scar under her right eye because of her sister's black cat and his need for attention at five in the morning. She also had a scar from a fight that she got suspended for on her left forearm, and another a little higher from her cat and her mother thinking it was a good idea to use Alex as a human pillow.

She also had another scar on the inside of her right wrist due to their German shepherd puppy and her vicious claws.

It was these sort of things that made the teenager hate herself quietly.

Her strawberry blonde hair was dull, in the sense that every blonde at her school had glowing hair, and bright blue eyes.

But Alex's eyes were a dull ice blue, not crystal.

She wasn't eager to show off her curves like most girls. She wore plaid shirts and skinnies, and most times converse or boots, depending on the weather. She hardly wore shorts, only if it was above sixty degrees.

She always carried a bag with her wherever she went; it always carried her wallet which held her permit and about twenty bucks on a good day. It also held her school ID, which was less helpful than her permit. The bag also held her crappy little flip phone which wasn't used very often, and mostly her notebooks and binders which were mainly used for free writing and drawing.

"Alex! Wait up!" Ah, Jeremy. He was a nice kid, a freshman, herself being a sophomore. He had shaggy black hair and bright blue eyes. He was basically her only friend, other than the group of stoners she hung out with because they didn't judge her for who she was.

Alex turned around, waiting patiently with a smile on her face as Jeremy pushed through the sea of students to get to her.

"'Sup Jermy?" She teased as they moved to her locker for her to pick up her jacket and some copy CD's from her tech class.

"Don't tell me you're hanging out with _him_ again?" Jeremy complained. "He always gets you after school. And tomorrow's your birthday." Alex laughed as she dropped off her health and English books.

"C'mon. 'Sides is cool, despite the fact that he's rather protective." See, Alex had helped this one guy get out of a Starbucks jam, and he had told her his name was Ryan, but he'd rather be called Sideswipe, or Sides for short. Since she had helped him pay for the coffee's he's been hanging around the school whenever she gets out and they would just sit and talk. Despite that at first it was rather creepy; she got used to it. Though Jeremy has yet to come around.

"Yeah, but honestly; he doesn't scream pedophile to you?" Alex gave him a shady look.

"Most adults do, but…I dunno. He feels kind of like a big brother. I mean Kathy likes him." She supplied, and it was true. Her older sister did indeed take kindly to Sideswipe, though again, mom had yet to come around.

"Whatever. Listen, tomorrow's Saturday and you're all mind dammit. 'Kay?" Alex bristled slightly at hearing Jeremy swear, he was like a little brother and hearing that kind of vocabulary out of his mouth didn't feel right. Now she knew how Kathy felt.

"As long as you don't swear like that, we got a deal sailor." Jeremy grinned.

"Awesome. See ya tomorrow!" She waved him off as he took off down the hallway making lots of people laugh. Alex shook her head with a smile before making sure she had everything and going down the stairs to the front doors where, surely, Sideswipe was waiting by his silver Corvette Stingray.

Now Alex didn't know much about cars; only that they needed windshield wiper fluid, gas, and some oil every now and then. But she knew models pretty well, and only a Google search had told her what sort of car he had.

"So," She greeted as she walked up to the soldier, "What do you want to listen to first? I got a mix CD and then the copy of Less Than Jake that you wanted." Sides grinned before taking both CD's off her hands.

"Let's do the mix CD first, because you always surprise me with those." Alex glowed before dropping her bag in the front seat of his car, and feeding the CD player her mix CD. "Will Kathy be joining us later?" He asked, as the teenager made herself comfortable on the hood of the car. She shrugged.

"I dunno. Honestly she has been feeling great lately." She replied, looking up at him.

"Since Kyle just up and left?" Alex nodded at his statement.

"I mean, yeah, it's nice that he took the time off from his leave to try and talk and even start things up again but…I dunno. He was her first boyfriend in a while, Y'know?" Sideswipe shrugged.

"You'll have to be patient with her I guess. Sam was kind of wounded when Mikayla left, leaving him with the dog and the little guys." From what she understood, Sam's girlfriend was pregnant with his kids, and she just left them with him. "And from what I understand, break ups like that take a while to get over." Alex looked back down at her shoes; the white sidewalls were now caked in dirt. She'll have to clean them soon.

"I guess." She sighed, now looking back up at him as the CD changed from Bruno Mars to Breathe Carolina's cover of Jay Sean's 'Down'. She then smiled back up at Sides as he started talking about something else, but she wasn't really paying much attention.

Sideswipe looked a lot like Paul Walker, save for he wasn't as tan, but he was bigger in the sense of muscles. His hair was shorter and a lighter dirty blonde color too. But other than that, he looked a lot like the actor. Oh! And his eyes were a much brighter blue too.

"Know what I mean?" Alex blanched, not hearing Sideswipe at all.

"Uhhhh…Sure..?" He raised an eyebrow before laughing at her as she started to giggle nervously. One of the things he's probably picked up on. Alex tends to giggle when she's nervous, along with chewing her bottom lip.

"Alright kid, let's get you home." Alex sighed and groaned before getting in the passenger seat.

"Can we take the long way?" She asked, setting her bag down at her feet, making sure to check her phone. Nothing new.

"Sure." He responded, turning the music up louder and taking off down the street.

* * *

A few hours after being home, mom and Kathy were downstairs cooking dinner, and Alex was upstairs. She was stuck between making another mix CD or doing her history homework that could wait being done till Sunday.

Another CD couldn't hurt could it?

Alex chewed her lip in thought, before throwing the cover of her MacBook open, (The laptop had come out of her college fund.), and going through her iTunes list, thinking of what both her and Sideswipe would enjoy.

He did like a couple of Demi Lovato songs that she'd put on there.

A couple drags and clicks later she had made a sixteen song CD mix. It wasn't only Demi Lovato though; there was also some Sublime, and more Bruno Mars. Some Gym Class Heroes, you get the idea. It was a mix CD.

After writing the number six on the CD and writing on the back of the cover paper the tracklist, she then moved onto one of her notebooks. Preferably the one with a bunch of doodles and drawings, though she had trouble coming up with what to draw.

A bright orange tabby then jumped up on her bed, stepping all over the Mac's keyboard and meowing up a storm. Alex smiled and ruffled the top of the cat's head.

"Hey Bells." Bella was barely seven months old. She was given to Alex as an early Christmas present at the end of November. Kathy was given a similar present, save for her cat was a boy.

And his name was Son.

Sighing, Alex dropped the sketchbook, and picked up her orange tabby.

"Well Smelly Belly, tomorrow's the sixteenth, and guess how old I'm turning." The kitten meowed pathetically, wanting nothing more than to be put down. "Yeah, I'm turning sixteen. Here." And she put the tabby back down on her bed, who then proceeded to clean herself. Alex wrinkled her nose.

"Charming." And Kathy knocked on the door. "Come in!" And the door creaked open.

"Dinner." She said dully, her mood showing obviously through her words. Alex nodded, following her sister down the stairs.

"Did you do your homework?" Her mom asked from the kitchen. Alex winced a little before sitting at the table, followed by both her family members.

"Err...No. No I didn't." She answered, picking herself a slice of lasagna, and grabbing some salad as well.

"You're not going to the movies with Jeremy then. Not until you get it done." Alex dropped her fork.

"Aww, c'mon mom! I'll get done on Sunday. I promise." Her mother shook her head.

"No. You're staying home tomorrow until that homework is done." The blonde groaned and roughly shoved a forkful of the Italian dinner in her mouth. She then proceeded to glare daggers at her mom throughout the dinner until Kathy shook her head at her. Saying that, that sort of behavior won't get her to the movies any faster.

Rolling her eyes, Alex seemed to settle down and calmly eat throughout dinner, and once it was done, she did the dishes and went back upstairs. She then proceeded to text Jeremy throughout the remainder of the night, whilst getting all of her homework done and even doing the rest of the notes for the chapter.

That way mom will find no loopholes to keep her home.

Alex looked down at her cat who had found her bed in the blonde's lap.

"I'm such an overachiever." She grumbled.

The kitten merely purred as Alex started to put her things away back into her bag. Once that was done, the laptop was shut off and placed on the desk, the kitten jostled and jumping off the teen's lap, finding comfort on her pillows. That's what Alex liked about having a full-sized bed. Both her and her cat could sleep peacefully without fighting over pillows.

Alex actually loved her room, though she couldn't paint her walls, she covered them in posters. From various bands and solo artists, to even movie and game posters, some overlapping another, and her favorite had to be the Halo 3 poster she had over her desk. It was awesome, also a gift from Sideswipe. He knew that she loved that game.

Her bed wasn't much either though, a full size, covered in gray sheets with a black comforter. A nightstand on each side, and a desk across the foot of it, with a dresser next to her closet. Now done looking for anything out of place in her room; Alex nodded before putting in her retainers and falling asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Five or six pages I think this was...? Tell me if you guys want it to be longer next update and I will be sure to do that. **

**And there will be a polyvore collection for this story as well. I don't know about you guys, but I like to have an image not to mention know what a character is wearing throughout a chapter. So there's that; the link to my polyvore page shall be on my Bio. **

**Anyways, leave a review if you'd like; it could be constructive, it could even be flames if that tickles your fancy. Just know that I actually won't read the flames, just put 'em out. You could also favorite/follow this story to know when I update next and all that jazz. **

**See you guys around!**

**:)**


	2. Alive

**A/N: I'm on a roll here! Awesome for both of us here. (Smileyface)**

**Anyways, I feel this chapter runs kinda fast, if it's just me, alright then. If it's not; sorry about that. This chapter is also setting up for a future situation and overall laying out the plot. **

**Review replys:**

**(Guest) ForgotMyName2Day: **Thanks for the help, I'll be sure to try and keep it this length. The problems will arise more and more soon enough. I just didn't wanna kick out Alex at the get go. Her mom's frustration with her comes later in the storyline. But what teenager doesn't overreact with their parents? I know I did.

**Fallen Angel 1243: **Thanks for stopping by! Have an update! :)

**Yeah I'm starting to actually reply to reviews now. I figured that's why my first story didn't get much hits. So I'm fixing that. **

**So I won't keep you any longer. See you guys at the bottom.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything Transformers related, only my characters. **

* * *

_Alex_

**Alive - Leona Lewis**

The next morning came way faster that Alex had anticipated; Kathy had to even shake her awake so she could get ready.

Mom had apparently given the okay, which was new to the blonde. But she would take it. Maybe she'd try to sweeten her luck by apologizing for last night.

See, Alex thinks too much, and after her behavior at the table last night; she tossed and turned thinking of other ways she could handle it. And now she just wished she could apologize.

Coming out of the shower wrapped in a towel and her hair the same, Alex then saw the clothes with _tags_ on them.

Mom had gone shopping for her?

She should really thank her; the blonde sometimes just took things for granted. There was also a new ring, necklace, and wallet there too. Smiling and getting dressed in the new clothes, whilst making sure all tags and stickers were removed, Alex emptied her bag and put both her phone and brand new wallet in it.

Tromping down the stairs, the blonde then launched into a hug for her mom and sister.

"Thankyou!Thankyou!Thankyou!" She chanted earning a laugh from both.

"Alright, alright! Just eat so that you can get a move on with your day." Kathy, for once in the past two day, was happy and Alex wasn't going to complain.

"Okay." She wheezed, sitting down and thoroughly enjoying her pancakes and strawberries.

"Oh! And I want you to wear these today." Her mom continued dropping a DC Shoes box on the table, earning a very bright-eyed look from her daughter.

"Are these the shoes I wanted so long ago?" Her mother grinned.

"And that is all you're getting from me today, a paycheck can only get so much." No complaints here.

"Thank you momma!" She cheered, switching out her converse for the DC's. Once breakfast was over, Jeremy was at the door, waiting patiently as Alex grabbed some gummi bears and her hoodie as they left.

"Be home by seven!" Her mom called from the kitchen.

"Promise!" And the front door shut with that.

"Seven?" Jeremy asked disbelievingly as the made their way down the street.

"Man, don't complain. Be happy it's not earlier. And watch your mouth about my momma." She grumbled, checking her phone for tons of birthday messages from people she hadn't remembered giving her number too. In which she would reply with a; "Thank you, stranger."

It made Jeremy laugh.

"So we're not really going to the movies." He announced sheepishly, getting a rather shocked look from Alex.

"Okay…what are we doing?" She was very keen on not going to any parties today, but of course, Jeremy loved parties.

"Just going to a uh…get together." He replied, getting a raised eyebrow from the blonde.

"As in a party? God, Jermy you know how I feel about those things." The idea of having a house filled to the brim with closely packed hormonal teenagers wasn't her idea of fun.

"Oh come on Alex! We'll be quick, just in and out!" He begged, earning a frown out of the blonde.

Seriously though, what didn't the freshmen get about her not liking parties? But he wanted to go so bad…

"Fifteen minutes. Then we leave." He nodded ecstatically.

"Promise." And he led the way down the street, an unsettling feeling sinking in Alex's stomach.

* * *

Fifteen minutes had now turned into four hours, and it was now six and the sun was setting. Was it just Alex or was the party getting wilder?

"God help me." She grumbled from her spot on the counter in the kitchen, her beg sat on her lap, a gummi bear popping into her mouth every once in a while. She was also earning some very scary looks from some guys who were in the dining room.

This was _not_ how she wanted to spend her birthday.

And now Jeremy was far too intoxicated to even remember Alex's name, much less the promise he made that they'd be in and out.

He was gonna get a stern talking to later.

Now all Alex wanted was to go home and play Kingdom Hearts. The problem with that being that she'd need a ride; because the two had walked so far away from her house that it'd take another two hours just to get back. And calling her mom or Kathy, or even _Sideswipe_ was just out of the question.

"Better get walking then." She sighed, dumping out her 'Coke' that someone had given her as she hopped off the counter and squeezed her way through the sea of teenagers. Once halfway through the living room she felt some sliding their hand into her back pocket.

"Hey!" Her voice was drowned out by the music as she slapped the hand away and pushed further through the sea just to get to the door.

Once getting there, she threw it open and raced down the porch steps. After feeling the chill of the wind, Alex shoved her hands through her hoodie sleeves and zipped it up as she walked down the street back to her house.

Guess she'll have to face the fire tonight.

"God I'm dead." She grumbled, checking her phone for the time. 6:15 pm. And today was supposed to be fun.

Then she saw the lights. And no, not the happy lights, the lights that told you the cops were coming and you were in deep shit.

This day just couldn't get any worse could it?

A cop car stopped right by her, and Alex threw her hands up, showing that she meant no harm or quarrel.

"Hands where I can see 'em!" No shit Sherlock. Alex refrained from rolling her eyes as she was slowly led towards the car.

"Ma'am are you part of the party that is up the street?" She could lie, but it was inevitable. She felt the cold steel of the cuffs wrap around her hands. She sighed before answering.

"My friend dragged me, I was just leaving." She answered as she turned around to face the cop. Another grabbed her bag off her.

"Have you had anything to drink?" He continued to ask, flashing a light in her eyes. Alex shook her head.

"I was given a drink, but I didn't, well, drink it." She was gonna kill Jeremy. Kill him good and dead.

"So you wouldn't mind taking a sobriety test then?" Why? She wasn't driving. Whatever.

"No." She answered, making the cop nod as the other went to pat her down.

"Got something in her back pocket." Shit, did that have to do with the dude in the crowd? She turned back around to see the cop holding a small white bag of…was that Coke?

"That's not mine. I swear." God that sounded shady, it was evident that either cop didn't believe her. God, she should've just called Sideswipe.

"Yeah. Alright, come on kid." And cop one held open the back door of the car whilst the second one gently led her in.

Alex never wanted to cry of embarrassment so bad.

Jeremy was dead the next time she saw him.

So they took her to the station, where she then took a drug and sobriety test. Though nothing came up, she was still held for possession.

Mom was gonna kill her.

They took her phone, hoodie, and shoes, and left her in a holding cell overnight whilst they called her mom and had her pay bail.

Alex was dead, and she knew it.

Her mom showed up not too long afterwards. Alex still had to stay overnight, but her mom signed a couple papers, rubbed her forehead and then came to the holding cell.

"What happened Alex? I gave you an inch and you ran a mile!" The blonde sat up. She didn't want her mom to _hate_ Jeremy that was the sophomore's job.

"Was my idea," She mumbled, "Heard there was a party and I wanted to go." Her mom gave her a look.

"Whatever. We'll talk when you come home tomorrow. Lucky this is a first offense, so there won't be any major charges." And her mom left with that.

That night in the cell she didn't sleep. She was too aware of the person in the cell next to hers grumbling and moaning. But her mom didn't pick her up the next morning, neither did Kathy.

Sideswipe did, and he didn't say a thing the whole ride home. That was, until he was parked in the drive way and she was gearing to get out.

"There's two versions to your story. Which one is true?" She looked up at him.

"Honestly? The one I told the cops." He raised an eyebrow.

"Then why lie to your mom?" He asked, then Alex somehow caught on, albeit delayed, to what he first asked.

"How did you know about the first version of my story?" She asked right back, getting a sigh from the man.

"I have a friend on the force. Now answer my question." Sideswipe was a lot of things, but he was hardly short. And when he was you could blatantly tell he was either stressed or frustrated.

"Because I didn't want her to ban me from seeing Jeremy. I was gonna take care of him in my own way." He scoffed.

"You'll be lucky if you get out of the house. From what I hear you're only allowed to leave the house for school and nothing else." Alex winced.

"Great." She then looked at Sides. "Listen, sorry if I stressed you out. I really didn't mean to. And I know it's gonna take a lot more than an apology for mom to let me learn to drive." Sideswipe clicked his tongue and made a face.

"I wouldn't say that. I'm pretty groveling will get you half way there." There goes a second wince.

"Awesome. Err, thanks. For picking me up and everything." He rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair.

"Don't get soft on me kid. I'll see you tomorrow." Alex laughed and got out.

"See ya." And she shut the door and walked up the driveway with that. She braced herself as she opened the door to see her mom sitting over some bills and a cup of coffee.

"Oh. You're back. Good. Go get showered." She greeted, slightly. Alex raised an eyebrow before sitting down at the table with her mom and taking out her phone and wallet.

"Here, I already know I'm grounded for forever. So I'll save you the trouble." Her mom looked up, her brown eyes looking tired and stressed out.

See, Alex looked nothing like her mom, more like her dad than anything. Her dad was a sandy blonde with blue eyes while her mom was a chocolate brown with matching eyes. Alex was a tannish pale matching her father but her mom was her Latino tan.

"Alright, get me your laptop and Xbox after you shower and eat then. Mmkay?" Alex nodded, before keeping her bag at the table.

After a much needed hot shower and dressing in a t-shirt and some sweatpants and grabbed her laptop and Xbox before depositing them at the dining table downstairs.

"Mom?" She asked gently poking her head in the kitchen.

"I just don't understand Alex. I've been more than lenient with you. I understand if I was a little forceful but I only want the best for you. If this is about Friday night, don't you think that's a little extreme?" Now her mom was banging pots and pans around trying to make lunch.

"No, no, no. Mom, hush. Please. This isn't about Friday night at all. Trust me, I tossed and turned practically all night because I felt bad about how I acted. No, I just…" How do you explain an urge to go to a party when you hate them? "I don't know. Everybody talks about parties as if they're something really cool, but honestly I didn't see the hype." She laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood. Her mom sighed, wrapping her daughter in a hug.

"I know I raised you right with that one statement. Just promise me something?" Alex nodded, looking up at her mom. "Promise me this won't happen again. I don't think I can take it." The blonde sighed before nodding again, and helping her mom make grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch.

The rest of the day Alex spent in her room separating her clothes for laundry and studying for finals.

* * *

Monday was lengthy, all Alex really wanted was to go home. She kept seeing Jeremy and tried to avoid him like the plague, but of course he found her at lunch.

"Hey." She groaned.

"I don't want to talk to you." And she walked around him with that, before he sighed and followed her.

"Listen if this is about Saturday-" She cut him off by whirling on him.

"When wasn't it about Saturday? I got arrested for you dude. I took the freaking blame for you. And do you even know how bad I could've had it. I could be in actual jail instead of a holding cell right now." He tried again.

"Listen I'm sorry, and I can fix this I promise." By now they were out front where Sideswipe was waiting to take Alex to a fast food joint for lunch. Today mom was making a small exception.

"How can you fix this Jeremy? Honestly. I would love to know. Is there some party where you can fix my permanent record?! Because I'd love to join that one! Hey, maybe I'll get arrested again!" He winced.

"Listen, Alex I'm sorry." He pleaded, and she turned to leave.

"Sorry doesn't fix this Jeremy. Not this time." And she threw her bag in the trunk and got in the car with that.

"Do you want me to glue him to the lockers?" Sideswipe offered, making the girl laugh through the threat of tears.

"I just want a hug right now." He sighed and ruffled her hair.

"Just a few more days kid." She nodded, feeding the CD player a mix CD.

"I know. I just can't wait for it." She just didn't know it'd get worse from here on out.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah. You guys know the drill. Leave a favorite/follow if you enjoyed it, and tell me what you think in a review.**

**Also, new outfits on Ployvore, so feel free to check those out.**

**See you guys next time!**

**:)**


	3. Boston

**A/N: Now I'm just trying to update as much as I can before I have to turn my laptop into the school. (Long story short; my school loaned me a computer for schoolwork. Now I have to turn it in before Thursday or I have to pay for it. Which is money I don't have. xD)**

**And I watched Burlesque for the first time today, great movie really. Though I felt Nikki was just a bit of a B-word. Along with the music not being much of a selection; but still. The movie was really good. Cher was amazing too, she filled my heart with rainbows.**

**Also, if you guys feel sorta awkward around innuendos or sex related humor; I hope you find the ending of this chapter funny. It sure was for me to write. Hey; it's rated T for a reason. If not well then that's okay.**

**Along with that, you could consider this a filler chapter; and sorta slow. Sorry; I'm just trying to, again, lay out the plot before actually giving the go-ahead move the actual storyline along. **

**And one last thing; anyone notice that ROTF's storyline started in like...August of 2009? Yeah...I kinda didn't take that into consideration but whatever, little details. This story is still going to end up with the beginning/end results of DOTM. Sam's still with Carly by that movie, and he still gets a job, etc., etc. **

**Though is there anyone/anything you guys wanna specifically see in this story? Like pairings wise? Storyline wise? Let me know and I'll try to make it happen. And do you guys want this story to run into DOTM's storyline? Feel free to let me know. **

**Review replies: **

**(Guest) ForgotMyName2Day: **Yep, though it does get slightly trickier, though I'm trying to not make it so, y'know? And she really should, it could've ended up so much worse that it was, but gladly, it wasn't and all will soon be cleared up and moving along. I think a talent show is actually a great idea. I like 'Love Song' it's a nice choice. Though I've never heard 'Gravitiy' before, maybe I'll check it out when I can. :) Another suggestion from me would propbably be; 'King of Anything' maybe? It's going along with the Sara Bareilles thing, but maybe if you don't like that one then 'Clarity' by Zedd and Foxes? It's a techno-ish song and really good.

**Carolina's Evil Angel: **Thanks! I'm glad you stopped by. Thanks for the follows and favorites too by the way. Made my day as well.

**So yeah, and thanks to the others who took the time to follow and favorite, sorry I forgot to thank you last time. Type first think later. -.-'**

**But hey; I'll let you guys get to reading, I've kept you long enough. ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything recognized in the Transformers franchise. I only own my OC's. **

* * *

_Alex  
_**Boston - Augustana**

School ended quickly, and May slowly turned into June, and now Kathy was turning twenty one soon. One the twenty – sixth, the family would have a barbeque and Kathy would be getting her renewed Driver's License that allowed her to drink.

Needless to say; Alex was jealous. All she had to look forward to was when she was no longer grounded, and able to try and get a summer job. If they hired sixteen year olds, or maybe they were all out of jobs.

Alex sat up in alarm; oh god…she wouldn't have a job! Which meant no spending money.

Wait a minute…why was she freaking out over this?

The blonde groaned and grumbled about the heat in her room before closing the curtains and turning the ceiling fan up to a higher speed. The past few weeks had blurred into each other with how long she was grounded. Wasn't this enough to satisfy her mother?

God, she needed to get out more.

Alex grumbled a little before sitting, jostling Bella and making the orange tabby utter a pathetic meow in complaint. The cat itself was too warm and even sweating all under that fur. The blonde furrowed her brow before picking up the cat and racing to her sister's room, chanting her name as she threw the door open.

Like expected; Kathy was watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother, before pausing and looking at her younger sister.

"What?" She grumbled, sitting up in her bed. Kathy's room was far different from Alex's, it wasn't covered in posters like hers but there were a few frames of Audrey Hepburn, James Dean, and Marilyn Monroe. It make Alex burn with jealousy, also the fact that Kathy's room was completely dark with both the ceiling fan and a spare fan circulating the cool air. After enjoying the coolness of the room for a few seconds before continuing.

"Is your cat sweating or really hot too?" She asked, earning a raised eyebrow.

"A little. I don't see why that's relevant. Can I get back to my show now?" And Kathy raised the volume on her TV, irritating Alex and making her launch Bella on the bed, earning a glare from her sister.

"You know how I feel about cats on my bed-"

"Let's bathe the cats!" The younger sibling interrupted, earning an even harsher glare from Kathy as she sighed and looked down at Bella, who again, meowed pathetically.

"Will you leave me alone if we do?" Alex nodded excitedly, finally finding something to do. The older sibling sighed before changing out of her PJ's and getting into some shorts and a tank top as she gave her sister her cat back and grabbing Son as they headed downstairs with some baby soap in hand.

"Don't you think we should use shampoo instead of baby soap?" Kathy question as they filled the kitchen sink with semi-cool water. Alex gave her sister a look of doubt.

"And if we get it in their eyes?" The older sibling rolled her eyes before going to grab two holey towels for the cats, who seemed to squirm, knowing they were going to be bathed.

"Whatever, can we make this quick? Lilly wants kids and I want to see her decision." Alex simply sighed before gently dunking Bella in the cool water, making her meow deeply and she seemed to squirm even more. The blonde cooed.

"That's too cute! Could you pass me the soap?" She tried to hide the laughs bubbling in her throat, with little success. Five minutes later, Bella was towel dried and trying vainly to clean herself, but it was obvious she appreciated the bath.

Son was a completely different story. See, Kathy had chosen to not declaw him unlike Alex who had decided she didn't want to be a scratching post for Bella. So, Son had decided to dig his claws into the girls' hands and wrists, making them look…well, sketchy.

"God! I hate your cat Kathy." Alex grumbled, towel drying the heathen before dabbing at her hands and wrists with a paper towel. The scratches weren't deep, but they still stung and showed little spots of blood that didn't bubble over.

"I know, I know. He's a little shit; blah, blah, blah. Like I haven't heard it before." The younger sister grumbled, then saw their German shepherd puppy outside, taking refuge by the door where the most shade was.

"Ah well, I'm gonna bathe Diamond too, go back to your show." Kathy grinned.

"Thank you little sister." She said lightly, before sliding on her socks to the stairs smoothly and bounding up them, Son at her heels. The younger sibling just rolled her eyes before grabbing the dog shampoo and red bucket under the sink before grabbing yet another holey towel and headed outside, the grass bending crisply under her socks.

"Hey little girl." Alex cooed, ruffling the puppies ears making her jump around excitedly. "You want a bath? I bet you do. It's really hot out here." Diamond just sat down in the shade, no longer in the sun where the blonde was. She then popped a hip and rested her hands on them. "Mom's at work." She offered; the dog didn't budge. She tried again;

"I'll give you a belly rub?" Nothing. Alex sighed again.

"I'll give you a treat. Or a bone." That seemed to have done it, before Diamond trotted over and plopped down at Alex's feet. "'Atta girl." And she went to turn on the hose, tying up her hair and filling the bucket with cool water. She didn't want to get yelled at for wasting water whilst giving the dog a bath.

Diamond seemed to immensely enjoy her bath, because she hadn't run away at all, and sat patiently at the door when Alex went to get her a few treats. By now it was about four, and the temperature was cooling a little, but not by much.

Once back in her room, Alex spent the rest of the night writing, playing her guitar, and taking a nap. Being grounded sucked, but if she wasn't it wouldn't be much better. Jeremy was long gone. He tried talking to her again actually, but this time Sideswipe had intervened and asked that he leave Alex alone. As it was obvious that she didn't want to talk to him.

Though after that, Sideswipe then did a couple donuts in the school parking lot once it was relatively empty before taking her home. He thoroughly enjoyed freaking Alex out with that, along with laughing while she gave him a good scolding.

When she says good; she means that she blew out her windpipes while Sideswipe paid her little attention and drove home.

The tell-tale sound of the garage jolted Alex from her reminiscing as thirty seconds passed before the garage door shut again. The door that leads to the kitchen opened and closed not much later.

"Alex! Get down here!" Was she in trouble? The blonde tried to think as she made her way down the hall and stairs. No, she hadn't done anything as far as she knew. Once downstairs and seeing her mom in the kitchen pacing and looking very stressed, did she then worry.

"What's wrong mom?" She asked, as if she was walking on a breaking sheet of glass. Her mom ran a very irritated and stressed hand through her hair before answering.

"You have a trial for that arrest. I'm not great in law, but after I paid your bail for that night, there's another that has to be set by the judge. As far as I know, I don't think it'll be much, being that you've never stepped out of line before and your system was clean. The trial is after Kathy's birthday. So dress in your finest. Please, we can't afford anything to go wrong." Alex blanched, she just figured that mom would pay the bail and she'd be home free. No, there had to be a secondary bail for the actual possession. Why in the hell did it take this long for it to come up?

Now the teenager saw why her mom was stressed and slightly irritated. After asking why it took so long for the court date to be set her mom answered;

"Because there was a long line ahead of you. Don't worry though, it wasn't very serious. I don't think the amount would be over five hundred dollars." That was still a lot. Pounding footsteps alerted the two that Kathy was coming downstairs.

"What'd I hear about a trial? Is this about…?" Her question hung in the air, answered by both Alex and her mom nodding. The older sister nodded with a; "Ohhh." Before she continued. "I'll let you borrow my sundress, it's cute and formal." The younger sister laughed.

"No offense Kathy but I don't exactly fit into your clothes." Her older sister laughed too.

"No, you'll fit. The dress is big on me." The blonde nodded as her sister reached for a banana out of the fruit bowl.

"So what's for dinner?" Alex asked her mother, who was going through the pantry.

"Uhhhh….Chinese. Find the number for Dragon Castle please?" Kathy already beat Alex to it; whipping out her smartphone and placing it to her ear in a matter of seconds. One the order was placed, the teenager was left to put away the dishes as her mom started on the laundry.

* * *

The days passed by into even more of a blur. The nights were spent up late with both Bella and Diamond with Sideswipe on the house phone, which took a bit of sneaking and very hushed talking. Alex's window was mostly open at that time whilst she tried to block out the heat during the day.

She actually started to keep a journal, to help maintain what little sanity Alex had left. Some days were also spent helping Kathy come out of her shell of a room for summer college classes and work. And whilst she was gone, Alex spent the day just cooling down in her room, which was quite nice.

Then Kathy's birthday was around the corner, which made the teenager start to panic. Most of the family was invited, aunts and uncles and cousins mostly. And there were some of Kathy's friends, and finally Sideswipe was invited too. Though he didn't do much other than sit with Alex at the porch table in the back under the gazebo. Some moments passed in silence before he finally started a conversation.

"So you have a trial tomorrow." He stated, looking at her with an expectant look. Alex didn't know what he meant by the statement but carried the conversation anyways.

"Yeah, I just hope I don't have to spend like a month in juvie or something. That'd be most unpleasant. Not to mention mom wouldn't be happy at all." She kept tearing the napkin into smaller strips. Sideswipe sighed before settling both of her hands with just resting one of his on top of them.

"Honestly? I think you'll be fine. No judge can keep a pretty face like that in juvenile." Alex rolled her eyes, before knowing at her lower lip.

"Why am I so scared then that something's gonna go wrong?" He shrugged.

"Jitters? Now seriously, stop being so nervous and serious. You're bumming me out." She rolled her eyes but laughed a little. Putting off the trial in her mind she then paid close attention to Sideswipe's next words. "What say you to getting at the cake a little early?" She considered it.

"I don't think Kathy would mind." And the two got up; but were stopped short by Alex's aunt who was single, and trying her luck with Sides. This will be great.

See, he had a very one track mind. He wasn't really interested with women, I guess you could say. All he really seemed to care about, at least when it came to females; was Alex's safety and happiness. It was new and sort of comforting to the girl. He kinda felt like an older brother who went to extra lengths to make sure no one hurt her. Should it be emotionally or physically.

So Alex was kind of humored by her aunt's attempts. She was one of those people in the family who had a list of who she wanted to bone…so to speak. She was also gorgeous in a sense...if you considered dyed red/brown glossy hair, blue eyes, and a very...fake curvacious figure gorgeous. Though none of it looked fake. She looked very cougar-ish.

God that felt inappropriate to think.

"So, no one has introduced me to you. My name's Evelyn, I'm Alex's aunt." The teenager wrinkled her nose in a disgusted manner. Really Aunt Eve? Sideswipe however, was clearly amused.

"Really? Well, I'm Ryan. Nice to meet'cha. I'd really hate to be rude and cut the chat short, but you see; Alex here was getting really hot so I wanted to take her inside." The teenager snorted quietly to herself before realizing she probably did look like a tomato and wanted nothing more than a cold water. Which was in fact, inside.

Aunt Eve however, bristled slightly at being turned down.

"Well, go inside then. But no funny business." She barked slightly before sashaying away. Alex had to hold in her giggles as she led Sideswipe inside who looked sort of confused.

"What's she mean by 'funny business'?" Once the two were in the kitchen; the younger kid had to laugh.

"I'm sorry," She wheezed, still getting a very confused look from her friend. "That was just so funny to me." He wasn't catching on.

"I still don't get what she meant." After catching a few breaths Alex then decided to explain after hopping onto the counter. Because obviously, he was hopelessly confused.

"She means boning Sides." He furrowed his brows for a few seconds, still confused before the teenager went on. "Love making?" She offered; no light bulbs yet. God, this was awkward. "God. Uhhh…how else do I explain this?" After a few hard decision making moments, sex was not something she wanted to talk about with Sideswipe, she continued. "Putting the lime in the coconut and shaking it up?" Nothing. Alex sighed.

"Sex man." She stated, making a very appalled and disgusted look come across his features, making her burst into a fit of embarrassed giggles.

"That's illegal! No! Gross! Gah!" He was obviously trying to forget the teenager's words, but this moment would probably be stuck forever in her memory. And it was hilariously amazing.

* * *

**A/N: Yep. That happened. I should probably get an award for longest author's note at the top there. -winces- Ehhh...I type/talk too much. **

**Anyways, new outfits on Polyvore!**

**And sorry this was posted so late at night, (At least in the US Central time) guys. Today was just hectic for me and my family. I'll try on a better timing next update.**

**Again; feel free to leave me your thoughts in a review, and drop a favorite/follow if you like this story and would like to know when I update next! Have a nice day/night guys.**

**:)**


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